Arc celebrates new space

Dahn Than Le likes being able to eat in the new cafeteria with his friends and listen to music on his iPod during his lunch break at Arc Community Services.

The nonprofit organization provides services to more than 600 people in the area with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The cafeteria is next to a new teaching kitchen used by the Arc’s six programs in the building.

“It’s nice,” Mr. Le said. “I like the cafeteria and eating with all my friends.”

He said making buckets that he gets paid by the piece for is his favorite job, but he also works in one of Arc’s enclaves, putting away pots and pans in the dish room at Fitchburg State University. The 25-year-old said he loves sports and sometimes trades Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups when betting on his favorite teams with his friends at work.

“I am glad they are done,” he said about the renovation of Arc’s building on Main Street. “It is brighter and more open. My brother wants to come work here. Right now he is staying home.”

He and his friend John F. Waggner, 23, from Leominster, were taking a break from assembling buckets. Sitting in a conference room with large windows that overlook Main Street, they talked about the renovation project.

Mr. Waggner said he was happy to get out of the dark, dusty basement and onto the spacious vocational floor when that part of the renovation was done.

Last week, around 50 staff members moved into 9,000 square feet of office space upstairs from the Arc’s Water and Cascade streets offices. A ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 1:30 p.m. Oct. 19.

The Arc’s executive director, Mary Heafy, said the change has affected the agency’s staff and also the clients they support.

“I’m expecting great things to happen,” Ms. Heafy said. “We’re no longer talking about a building renovation. We’re talking about what does excellence look like. We want to be the go-to organization for people looking at how best to support a person with developmental or intellect disabilities and want the Arc to be who you call or turn to.”

The renovation project began in 2002 and totals $5.3 million.

When Arc moved into the 35,000-square-foot, 100-year-old vacant building at 564 Main St. in the 1970s — formerly the Sears & Roebuck store and an old pool hall — few improvements had been done over the years.

The current renovation project came to a standstill in 2008 because the cost of renovations increased by nearly $2 million.

Then, Arc raised $2.3 million in private donations and received many grants for the project. Roughly $800,000 in renovations paid for by Arc were completed in 2003 for its day programs, which occupy one area of the building. Other completed renovations include upgrades to the electrical, heating, plumbing and air-conditioning systems in the building and the addition of four conference rooms, family support spaces, an exercise room, reception area and a passenger elevator.

Victoria L. Briggs, director of specialized supports, has worked at the Arc for 15 years. Her office was on Cascade Street, but she supervised staff in the Water Street building.

“It is nice we’re all under one roof,” she said. “With the location downtown, our folks who need to reach us can take public transportation.”

John F. Smith, project manager for the Arc, said almost all of the contractors he used were local, small contractors. “And each one knew someone or had someone in their family who used services here,” Mr. Smith said. “I think that is one of the reasons everything went so well — people meshed. It could have been a nightmare trying to do this with an occupied building.”

One challenge was continuing with the work while the Johnsonia building next door was demolished, he said.

The Johnsonia was destroyed in a six-alarm fire in June 2011 and was demolished over the summer.

“It was not taken down as fast as it was supposed to be,” he said. “While the upper floors were disassembled, we had to move extra people into areas that were already tight. Juggling everyone around and trying to make everyone happy was a challenge, but everyone went right along with it and we kept on schedule.”

There are only minor items left on a punch list for the project, he said, and the agency wants to convert space in the basement into a clean room for biomedical contracts.

“We are down to $160,000 to finish off expenses on the project, but that does not include the clean room,” he said.

Jennifer Peck, director of development, said people can still donate through the Arc’s “$1 million Square-by-Square Campaign,” with donations of $150 going toward the renovation of one square foot of the building.

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